Drought, wildfires, and extreme weather — is this the new normal for Texas?
There’s been a whole slew of reporting on the drought in Texas over the last few days. A guide to some things you might not know about water issues and the drought.
Curious about what state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon has to say about some towns in Texas running out of water? StateImpact Texas put in a call: Q: StateImpact Texas: There’s this list by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) of towns that are running out of water. Some of them even have a date of […]
They are numbers familiar to us by now: billions in losses, millions of acres burned, record high temperatures, and record low rainfall during our current drought. Some towns in Texas are now asking the big question: How long do we have until we run out of water? “We haven’t had that situation yet,” says Andrea Morrow, […]
State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon (Photo: Texas A&M) John Nielson-Gammon, the state’s climatologist, has been quite busy as of late. Our record-breaking heat and single-year drought is on the minds of citizens and lawmakers, so Nielson-Gammon’s insight is in high demand. How high? The climatologist penned this brief summary of his hectic day last week briefing […]
With the current drought now more or less at the one-year mark and breaking records along the way, many are wondering if it will ever end. Another question is, how unique is this drought to Texas and the surrounding region? Researchers at the University College London’s Department of Space and Climate Physics have put together […]
It’s a question on everyone’s mind, one with an elusive answer – when will the drought end? John Nielsen-Gammon, the state’s climatologist, has been busy briefing lawmakers on how we got here, if there’s an end in sight, and whether or not this may be the new normal. Using his report that he presented last […]
Last week we reported on the top 25 water users in Austin, with a map showing where the biggest consumers are located (shown below). On the list were familiar names like Lance Armstrong, Cedric Benson and Roy Spence. Coming in at number seven was Congressman Michael McCaul, who lives in Westlake. He used 1.4 million […]
It was hammer time this week at a joint meeting of the Texas Senate Committee of Agricultural and Rural Affairs and the Committee on Natural Resources. Lawmakers were there to hear about the impact of the ongoing drought on the state. It’s already the worst single-year drought in Texas history, and could become a new […]
The Eagle Ford Shale formation in South Texas has made headlines for its abundance of natural gas, but the formation doesn’t end at the Rio Grande. That fact is not lost on the Mexican government. Last week, the Mexican Minister of Energy proposed ramping up hydraulic fracturing operations in Northern Mexico. The announcement wasn’t especially […]
A few years back, Lance Armstrong was caught. He apologized, admitted the error of his ways, and promised to do better in the future. His offense? Using too much water. Armstrong had used 330,000 gallons of water in July 2008. He hadn’t even been home at his three acre, 14,475 square foot estate. “I’m a […]
StateImpact seeks to inform and engage local communities with broadcast and online news focused on how state government decisions affect your lives.
Learn More »